Updated publication of common German ZUGFerd and French Factur-X standard
In October, the respective national e-invoicing standards for Germany and France will simultaneously updated. German e-invoicing is to be mandated between 2025 and 2028. There is also a French e-invoicing mandate starting in September 2026.
EU-compliant ZUGFeRD 2.3 and Factur-X 1.0.07
- ZUGFeRD is a standard for electronic invoices that combines a PDF invoice with an XML file. It’s an acronym for Zentraler User Guide des Forums elektronische Rechnung Deutschland, which translates to “Central User Guide for Electronic Invoicing in Germany”
- Factur X is the French version Its current, full version (Factur-X 1.1) is equivalent to ZUGFeRD 2.3, making them compatible. The two standards combine the most commonly used invoice formats: PDF and XML.
ZUGFeRD 2.1 and Factur-X are fully compatible and technically identical. The were aligned in 2015. Switzerland also recommends the standard.
Hybrid PDF XML e-invoice
ZUGFeRD/Factur-X is a hybrid electronic invoice format that consists of two components: a PDF file and an embedded XML file. The PDF file provides the readable, visual representation of the invoice, while the XML file contains the structured invoice data, which can be processed automatically.
Technically, the XML structure is based on the international UN/CEFACT cross-industry invoice (CII) standard and the ISO standard PDF/A-3. The format meets the requirements of the European standard EN 16931, which establishes the rules for electronic invoices to contracting authorities (B2G).
Changes to the ZUGFeRD/Factur-X :
- Supplements to the French B2B mandate for mandatory electronic invoicing.
- The basis is UN/CEFACT CII D22B in order to correspond more precisely to EN 16931 (BG-3 cardinality 0..n).
- Rounding tolerances: Introduction of permissible rounding inaccuracies in order to no longer regard small deviations in tax amounts as errors.
- Optimized documentation: Technical attachments for individual profiles and an XSLT file for visualizing the XML data.
- Updated sample files: bug fixes and an HTML view of the XML data.
- Compatibility: Fully compatible with Factur-X 1.0.07.
- Small bug fixes in all profiles.
Integration of ZUGFeRD and Factur-X
Electronic invoices in the ZUGFeRD and Factur-X formats are already fully integrated into EDI systems, accounting systems, ERP software solutions and the central platform Chorus Pro for French B2G invoices. The French agency for state financial information technology AIFE has integrated Factur-X as a hybrid format in Chorus Pro since May 2018. For more information, see our blog post Sending invoices to the public administration in France via the Chorus Pro platform.
